Emma Curley
Architecture
Urban design
Facilitation

Rose Square,Tbilisi, Georgia

Emma Curley acting as Head of the Urban Design Unit in Murray Ó Laoire Architects participated in this shortlisted international design competition to make detailed design proposals for the redevelopment of Rose Square, Tbilisi. Tbilisi is a significant industrial, social, and cultural centre on the banks of the Mtkvari river.  Located strategically at the crossroads between Europe and Asia on the historic Silk Road routes, Tbilisi has often been a point of contention between various rival powers and empires. The history of the city can be seen by its architecture, where the Haussmann inspired Rustaveli Avenue and the city centre are blended with the narrower streets of the medieval Narikala district.

The project brief centred on the re-visioning of Rose Square, as a revitalised gathering and commercial space, and viewing platform for the landscape of the capital city. The brief includes the renovation and extension of the existing Melyk Azariants building as a retail and cultural centre, the redevelopment of commercial office space, the design of a pavilion building on the square, the redevelopment of the existing Savanne building as a hypermarket and the addition of new parking structures. At the core of the redesign concept was the proposal to re-connect back to the banks of the Mtkvari River with the redevelopment and landscaping of the square and the adjoining park.